Recent Tasting Notes

This tea needed 3 rinses because it was pretty dry. After the first couple of rinses I was smelling a very earthy and woody smell, also with a slight floral aroma. The leaves seemed to be quite small (most likely due to it’s very dry storage), but they started to thicken up after a few steeps. The liquor was very dark, nearing dark brownish-red after the 4th steep. The first steep was a 25 second steep in 350mL of boiled spring water. The taste was very earthy with a slightly floral aftertaste at the back of the mouth. Next steep was 35 seconds. The liquor darkened much more over the course of the steepings. I increased the steep time by 10 seconds each steep until it became too astringent and bitter, I think it was around the 8th steep when it started to taste dead. Of course this could be stretched to around 12-15, but this was my first time experimenting with this cake. Overall the tea was light in texture and didn’t provide too much flavor. But I did enjoy the floral/fruity aftertaste that followed. Definitely suits me as a before bed tea. I will note here for personal use as I am forgetful that this tea did make my stomach feel a little uneasy afterwards. But I had drank about 5 different teas before this one on the same day. Probably a total volume of 5 liters of tea. Boy did I feel flush!